What is LOTUS?
It looks like a huge pink flower shaped building with a golden crown on top. Yes, it does look like a lotus flower. Opened in July1986, this sacred place, "The Light Of Truth Universal Shrine" is dedicated to the light of all faiths and to world peace. People of all faiths are welcomed here to pray, meditate and go deeper in their personal faith. This beloved space of divine presence and silence has an upper sanctuary with a light coming out of the floor that rises up through the center of the ceiling and stretches into heaven. The lower level is the "All Faiths Hall" that contains sectional glass cases that holds representations of all the faiths in the world. For example the Christian glass case has The Holy Bible opened to Psalm, a calligraphy written The Lord's Prayer and The Beatitudes in individual frames, a large gold cross, a communion chalice, and a pastor/minister's beautifully designed stole. Each faith has their own case that holds significant items and artifacts depicting its traditions. The lotus is a plant that has long been associated with purity, faithfulness, rebirth, vitality, divinity and creative power. Vitality is the ability to live, grow, and develop. Often vitality is associated with the power to endure and survive. The lotus grows in shallow water in ponds and streams. The lotus seeds and roots grow from the mud. Leaf and flower buds emerge over the top of the water and unfold into the visible beauty of the lotus leaf and blossom. The lotus symbolizes growth in difficult situations. Just like the lotus flower, we all have the opportunity to grow into more vital people when we encounter unfavorable difficulties. When we encounter these situations, the way to become more alive is to cling even tighter to the giver and sustainer of our lives. When we experience desolation and despair, we need to spend time in prayer, meditate and read God’s Word. If we open our hearts to God we are given insight into our circumstances that we can use to live and grow. God provides clear perception that we can use to move beyond our present situation to a new vitality. All women and men encounter tough times. The question is what do we do in these tough times? Do we grow(vitality) in the face of adversity, or do we collapse under the weight of the circumstance? We have a choice.
Listen carefully to this song and watch the video of Your Hands by JJ Heller:
https://youtu.be/4l3CEMWCxSk
....if it does not come up by just clicking it, copy and paste it to Google and it will come up then
Tuesday as I approached LOTUS for the 12:00 noon meditation and prayer time, I felt led not to go inside but to sit outside underneath the waterfall that flows from the front midline of LOTUS. I like to begin my time with God saying a mantra - a word or phase that is repeated to bring you into a centered focus and to calm down all the mind chatter and incoming thoughts. I became connected to this phrase while at Spring Forest Healing Center in Minnesota along the bank of Lake Superior during a spiritual retreat that my dear father took me to when I was struggling severely with the multiple sclerosis symptoms, the horrid disease modifying interferon injections and their side effects. What's this phrase? "I am in God, God is in me, God and I join together. We are One." I sync each inhalation and exhalation with these words and feel my body, heart and soul shift inwards embracing God's loving presence all around me. I basked in this present moment and drank in each delicious wave of peace and love. At some point I sensed the pull for me to get closer to the water in order to see, hear and feel the water better. I leaned over the edge, closed my eyes and breathed in the coolness of the water and felt the wet spray on my face as the water cascaded down and hit the pool below. I remember saying to myself, "This is heavenly, I don't want it to stop." After about 10 minutes, my eyes wanted to open and I let them. I stared at the under side of the water focusing my gaze on where the water falling met the water of the pool below and marveled at the beauty of the movement of the water. All this time, I had continued with my mantra, "I am in God, God is in me, God and I join together. We are One" with intermittent prayers for others. I lifted my eyes just above where the waterfall and water pool met, and I noticed the water was creating a playful dance that drew me in closer to observe. It appeared that each individual stream of water was linking together in formations of interactive play just for me. It made me smile to see these choreographed water movements to the sound of the waterfall. I sensed that a message was in this visual of nature for me. "God, what are you trying to tell me? What am I to learn?" With this awareness I silenced my thoughts and waited for a while. The message was revealed, "Be more playful." I asked, "What do you mean be more playful?" I heard, "Play, be more childlike, connect with this part of you more often." Then the chimes of LOTUS rang signaling that meditation and prayer time has come to an end. I walked slowly away from this experience holding this new message with an openness to do just that. What does childlike mean and what does it mean for me? A lightness, a freer spirit, and seeking moments to be more playful. The first thing that came to me was cartwheels and handstands. I arrived early to the yoga room for the 3:00 session and proceeded to do cartwheels and handstands. I felt playful and joyful. It felt so good to ask my body to do this, allow it to try it and to feel the awesomeness of the happy and childlike feelings as they washed over me. I get it ! I will make more space in my life to just play.
I am in the second week of this Yoga Continuing Ed Pgm. It certainly is a whirlwind of incoming knowledge - a thorough understanding of some of the more difficult yoga poses, benefits and practices as well as an in depth study of all areas of living as a Yogini. It is about taking these principles of living off the mat and applying them to daily life and experiences.
So what is a typical day here at Satchidananda Ashram and Integral Yoga Academy?
5:45 Meditation - I have to set my alarm for 4:45 am and get up in order to allow my body enough time to absorb the medication for the chronic back pain from degenerative disc disease; have had 3 spinal fusions and several docs have told me, "There is nothing else we can do about this pain except pain management." Yoga does help with the pain. While I have a hot drink - water, tea or coffee, I lay on an ice pack to freeze the lower back to calm down the pain and let the meds work. At home I do the same thing but not so early in the morning. If I did not do this every day in the morning and late in the afternoon, I would not be able to function because the pain is so debilitating. Okay meds absorbed, here I go.
6:30 - 8:05 Hatha Yoga Class
8:15 Breakfast
9:30 - 11:30 Hatha Theory - dissection of a few poses
12:00 - 12:30 Walking or Seated Meditation at LOTUS (All Faiths Shrine)
12:45 Lunch
1:30 - 3:00 Study/Rest - I rest and/or sleep to help manage the chronic fatigue from the MS
3:00 - 5:45 Anatomy and Physiology
6:00 - 6:30 Yoga Nidra - deep guided relaxation
6:30 Supper
7:30 - 9:00 Yogic Diet for Treatment and Prevention of Disease
I have used the word HATHA a lot. What does Hatha actually mean? Hatha yoga refers to a set of
physical exercises (known as asanas or poses) and sequences of asanas, designed to align and balance the body. In Hatha yoga practice a balance of strength and flexibility is developed as well as learning
to balance effort and surrender in each pose. Hatha yoga is a powerful tool for self-transformation. It asks us to bring our attention to our breath, which helps us to still the mind chatter and be more in the present moment.
A lot of people freak out with the OM. What is OM? Why is it helpful?
Can it be translated into English? (Not exactly.) If you chant it does it somehow change you or your religion? (Absolutely not.) Om is an ancient Sanskrit “word” that can be used to begin and close a meditation time or yoga session. It is the essence of Om that brings you to a centering place. Om brings an awareness of the physical reality of this world and your body, the subtle impressions of the mind and emotions, and the thoughts and beliefs of your life and this world. In my personal practice I regularly use OM and find it very helpful. In classes and private sessions that I teach, I decide if this is okay for me to use or not. Sometimes I do and sometimes I do not. I would like to use it more often with all my students and to be able to bring it into our sessions. This continuing ed program is showing us ways to bring the OM into class in a more welcoming and accepting way. It is about the healing sound vibrations and connecting to them. I learned Monday that there are universal sounds of delight. Think of what sound comes out of your mouth when you relax into your favorite chair/couch/bed, "Aaahhh." Think of what sound comes out of your mouth when you see something spectacular like a fireworks show, "Ooooo." Think of what sound comes out of your mouth when you take a bite of your favorite food, "Mmmm." Clearly, sound vibrations have meaning and endearment.
We have had a lot of class time in anatomy and physiology in order to know how yoga poses work with different bodies and how each person's anatomy determines what is best for a student to do or not to do. I am a good example of the importance of knowing my body's structural differences with my 3 spinal fusions L2-4 and right hip replacement. There are just some poses that collide with these areas. I modify the pose to bring it into compatibility with my body. Remarkably the benefits are still received for me and my students as modifications are introduced and used.
People of all bodies with different shapes and sizes, strengths and limitations can do yoga if they are guided properly from the instructor. As an instructor watching students blossom and grow in ways they doubted possible is such a joy. It feels me with gratitude to be able to help them to connect with this fresh new difference and to move more comfortable in their bodies on a daily basis.
Om Shanti (peace),
Lisa/Bhakti
No comments:
Post a Comment